Martin Swan first saw Jodie Seales at The Niagara Playhouse in South Jersey. The young, aspiring actress portrayed Aunt Abby Brewster in a stage production of Arsenic And Old Lace. Federal Agent Swan was just a face in the crowd.The cast removed wigs, glasses and other head-dress at curtain call. Jodie’s blond curls tumbled out. Bright floods illuminated her face as she lifted from her curtsey, … curtsey, and Martin Swan went over the falls – without the barrel.
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Martin Swan’s Diary is yet another strong outing from Florida author, Kyle Keyes. Keyes has never been one to shy away from experimenting with different genres and Martin Swan’s diary sees him make a foray into the crime/spy thriller genre.
The book is expertly paced and its 300+ pages are easily consumed in several sittings. As he so often does, Keyes paints vivid characters who are a blast to spend time with and he also does an expert job of creating the world that they live in.
While the novel is undeniably gripping, it is also peppered with some great humor and this helps the plot of the book flow very nicely.
“Dear diary – I think she might like me…”
The story behind Martin Swans is actually interesting, so let’s begin; his neighbor Jodie once had a dream to become an actress, dream which clearly went out the window after she meet her future husband Carlos Santinio; after a kid a several years of domestic violence, Jodie decides to run away with Timmy and the help of this special agent Swans, aka Sweneey; who’s actually working in a different mission to stop a terrorist attack.
The day they decide to run away, the least Jodie expects is to find Carlos at her door demanding to see his son; things get rough and well…Carlos suddenly is under the door dead.
Jodie, Timmy and Swans go away leaving a crime scene for the father of Carlos, Antonio whom Jodie believes has connections with drugs cartel in Colombia…well she gets a few surprises with her father in law, who only wants his grandson with him, and Jodie…well she’s an obstacle for that to happen.
Along the story we get a few surprises and it’s actually full of funny scenes and you can totally picture the characters getting along and fighting over the simplest things. Even if the book has two completely different stories to tell; the author managed to make them part of Martin Swans in just one piece. This one was a really easy reading and it’s so different from what I usually read, but I am glad I did.
I found Martin Swan’s Diary very enjoyable being fast-paced and full of humor. Keyes has a way of always grabbing my attention almost immediately making it feel like I am watching a great movie. He has a unique style of writing that makes it almost impossible to put the book down. The ongoing series has a really engaging plot, which is made even better with brilliant characters. It’s really well written, these books were recommended to me by a friend.
Kyle Keyes brings another gripping novel that keeps the reader either laughing or shaking their head at the events that Jodie Santinio and Martin Swan find themselves in. Martin Swan’s Diary begins with Jodie trying to escape her abusive husband, only to have him show up ten minutes too early. Martin saves her, and so begins the race to Florida with Carlos’s revenging family on her tail. As a special agent Martin needs a cover and he couldn’t think of anyone he would rather have at his side than Jodie, after they find a sitter for her young son.
Martin Swan’s Diary is humorous. Kyle Keys has a way of revealing strong personality traits in his characters. Martin is protective and intelligent, while Jodie is flighty and determined. I know parents are partial to their children and Jodie thought Timmy was a genius; although he enjoyed setting fires and killing bugs. This was a fun novel to read.
I found Martin Swan’s Diary very enjoyable being fast-paced and full of humor. Keyes has a way of always grabbing my attention almost immediately making it feel like I am watching a great movie. He has a unique style of writing that makes it almost impossible to put the book down. The ongoing series has a really engaging plot, which is made even better with brilliant characters. It’s really well written, these books were recommended to me by a friend.
Martin Swan’s Diary by Kyle Keyes
Like this book right from the start, first off I feel part of the scene with the descriptions and it’s action, fast paced.
Jodie and her spouse are on the outs and he confronts her to find out Sweeney is there to help her. She grabs her child and suitcases and they leave NJ for FL.
The family mob know where her sister is and they head there but there are things there for them in place. Love how Swan gets special treatment along the way and help him out of bad spots.
Time goes back to when he served overseas and we find of his special abilities there.
Love the travel, roads we have been on, fond memories.
Like short diary notes to summarize the day’s events.
So many are after them from all angles and they count em off as they are dealt with…
A lot of other reviews focus on Kyle as a person, and flower up the language. Realistically Kyle is a plot driven writer. He focuses on a few characters, but the real prize is in the plot.
This story starts off with a prelude that grabs you. It’s a bit clunky and telling, but that is Kyle’s style. Typically this is a huge flaw in a writer, but he manages to keep it entertaining. Very few authors pull this off.
This story starts off with Jodie (and Timmy, her son) immediately thrust into action with Martin Swan. His perfect timing saves the day, and throughout the story we get to see her adventure unfold. Though this is named “Martin Swan’s Diary” we get a lot more insight through the action happening from the characters around him.
This book is great, even with the telling it’s easy to visualize everything. I’d recommend it to anyone.
Martin works for the US government. His goal is to focus on his wife and son. But the terror of the world interrupts his big plans. He sets himself up to be in the line of danger defeating the second most important value to him – protection of country and state. The first priority naturally his family.
Though at times husbands do not display affection and their time adequate especially when terrorists and crime fighting are stealing every precious moment away.
There are many sources for plot description, I want readers to capture the man and woman underneath the words. To truly visualize the dynamics of danger, anger, suspense and most of of love. The anger comes from Jodie being a pawn in the government’s projects until something changes for her goals and mission.
Keyes (author) embraces the romance in a crafty way that barely shows a male openness for relationships.
First of all, “Martin Swan was not a terrorist, nor a truck driver. He only replied to the want-ad because the wording linked Florida with Washington, DC and wanted someone who could speak Arabic. The year was 2008 and jobs were scarce. The ad called for a big van driver with a clean record, who could be at Black Water Crossing the day before Halloween.” (Martin Swan’s Diary).
He’s a Special Agent of the US government whose latest assignment “encompassed the state of Florida. He needed a cover, deep and full proof. Jodie Santinio was to be a part of the cover. In return, the United States government would give her a new identity. A fresh start. A house. A job. Money. A better future for her son, Timmy. There is an element of danger involved.” (Martin Swan’s Diary).
This book was alright in my opinion. It was eventful and it was adventurous and that’s a great thing for a novel. However, I just was not in the mood for a story like it. So my experience with it was a bit lazy. Its contents were fast-paced and ideal for most readers who enjoy novels about the US government and bad guys like the “hairy” and “dark” and “terrorist” Middle Easterners. I had to laugh at this book throughout its entirety because Kyle Keyes is full of humor and wit it’s all very admirable. He just has a lot of funny bones in him it makes his books enjoyable. There is also a family of Italian mobsters who aren’t really mobsters who happen to be dim-witted except for the patriarch who is Alfonso Santinio and his many sons who all fall victim to the very elusive and smart Martin Swan. It also helps that his war partner Jodie has a feud with this family because her abusive husband Carlos had been Alfonso and Maria’s son.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy humor and stories about the US government and its special agents and of course the whole thing about terrorism and such. I recommend this book to those readers who have affinity for “masculine stories” that have zero violence and gore in them, books who have a lot of wit and wisecracks. This book was just like other books of Keyes’ that I have read in that there is talk about the military and the law enforcement but that there is a little sprinkling of blood and all that jazz. There is also a little hinting at sexuality but it’s just innuendos and nothing more. Jodie and Martin are not exactly of the same age because it is said that Jodie looks like a daughter of Martin’s so there’s that. Anyway, get it if you want to laugh and be up all night and pay no heed to what my unbecoming mood was threatening to do and that was to be negative about this book which is in reality, a really fun and quick breeze.
Discovering Florida author Kyle Keyes is a rare pleasure. Having read and enjoyed his QUANTUM ROOTS diptych, the man’s gifts are a known treasure. His perfect blend of wry humor and vivid scene painting and character creating make his books addictive. Perhaps his experience as a journalist assists his reportage of events in such a credible and involving manner that his ‘novels’ seem real – very real.
Kyle understands the impact an overture, or cinematic teaser, can have on capturing the attention of the reader, as he displays in his Prelude – ‘Martin Swan was not a terrorist, nor a truck driver. He only replied to the want ad because the wording linked Florida with Washington DC and wanted someone who could speak Arabic. The year was 2008. Jobs were scarce, gas prices high. The back page ad called for a big van driver with a clean record, who could be at black Water Crossing the day before Halloween. As fate would have it, a quirky satellite blackout occurred before the government agent could complete the overseas agreement. A follow-up call led nowhere. Thus, the mid-east connection never fell victim to a federal communications dragnet – nor could Martin Swan detail the pending threat against Washington, or where the explosives would come ashore. Thus, Martin Swan would need a full proof cover for this upcoming assignment. Enter Jody Seales Santinio.’
Trying to peak at all the clues in the prelude proves fascinating as this wild ride of an espionage story unfolds. Get the characters straight for openers – Jodie Seales Santinio is married to the abusive and dangerous Carlos Santinio and Martin Swann is a special agent posing as an elderly gentleman as a means to warp a terrorist attack against the US, and of course Arab terrorists with their pumpkin hidden grenades…and the rest falls into place as the pages turn. A hint of Kyle’s delectable humor is evident in his description of the plot: ‘Martin Swan first saw Jodie Seales at The Niagara Playhouse in South Jersey. The young, aspiring actress portrayed Aunt Abby Brewster in a stage production of Arsenic And Old Lace. Federal Agent Swan was just a face in the crowd. The cast removed wigs, glasses and other headdress at curtain call. Jodie’s blond curls tumbled out. Bright floods illuminated her face as she lifted from her curtsey, and Martin Swan went over the falls – without the barrel.’ Just a hint – but a seductive one,
This is polished, near-cinematic screenplay writing by the talented Kyle Keyes. The language fits the characters and the situations, and each character becomes visible because of the keen manner in which they are painted.
The book has it all – entertainment, escapism, tension and rollicking laughter – a book that deserves a very wide audience. Highly recommended.
Martin Swan is a classic character that is impossible not to love. There is so much humor and light-hearted entertainment as well as the deeper are more poignant main plot line. This is a novel for a wide-range of readers that it’s hard to imagine anyone not getting something from it. Martin Swan is easy to identify with, and isn’t overly gritty and serious like so many protagonists seem to be these days. The story flows as a constant pace, and the love interest side plot was very compelling as well. A solid four stars.
Spy thrillers can be great reads, but they do tend to be a little slow and a little too serious in parts, which can make them hard going. I did not have that problem with Martin Swans Diary by Kyle Keyes. A terrifying blend of betrayal, murder, terrorism, and violence is lightened up so well with big chunks of humour. It’s Johnny English meets James Bond!
Martin Swan is an American agent tasked with saving the world, he isn’t the best man for the job but he has it anyway. As if preventing a huge terror attack against the US isn’t enough to deal with, he has also found himself in deep with a beautiful blonde, who happens to be married to a blood-thirsty nightmare of a man, from an even worse family. Only problem is, Martin cannot just walk away from this woman, her needs her to work undercover with him. What could possibly go wrong?